Monthly Archives: December 2016

President Muhammadu Buhari has assented to the ‎Endangered Species Control of International Trade and Traffic Amendment Act 2016, earlier passed by the National Assembly. Nigeria is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty drawn up in 1973 to protect wildlife against over-exploitation, and to prevent international trade from ...

Access Bank has affirmed its leadership of the Nigerian banking industry with its recent recognition as the “Bank of the Year” at the 17th annual Bank of the Year awards black-tie dinner in London. The award, which validates other nine international honours earned by the bank over the past 10 months for operation, responsible business practices and innovation, is unarguably ...

Forget solar roofs. The world’s first solar road is here, in the small village of Tourouvre-au-Perche in Normandy, France. The 1km road was opened a week ago by French Ecology Minister Ségolène Royal and could generate enough electricity to power the street lights. That might not sound very impressive for 30,000 square feet of solar panels – and it kind of isn’t, ...

France has submitted its long-term climate action plan under the Paris Agreement to the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was submitted on Wednesday, December 28 2016. This makes the host nation of COP21 in Paris the fifth country to communicate its long-term climate strategies to the UN body, after the United States, Mexico (both submitted ...

The overarching goal of the Mexican NAMA Support Project is to implement the New Housing NAMA, which promotes cost effective, energy-efficient building concepts across the housing sector with a particular focus on low-income housing.NAMA, implies Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action refers to a set of policies and actions that countries undertake as part of a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. ...

A rainbow-headed snake and a dragon-like lizard are among 163 new species that scientists recently discovered in the Greater Mekong region in South East Asia, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) disclosed recently. According to the conservation group, rapid development in the area, from dams to mines, is threatening wildlife survival. The discoveries, published in a recent report, include ...

Cheetahs may have once prospered, but they certainly aren’t anymore. Scientists examining the worldwide population of these swift, spotted cats have found that there are only 7,100 left in the wild, surviving on just 9% of their original land range – and that they should be upgraded from “vulnerable” (population decreasing) to “endangered” (seriously at risk of extinction) on the International Union ...

The Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) sees the appointment of Amina Mohammed, Minister of Environment of Nigeria as the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations, as a validation of her clear focus and universal commitment to the common good – and especially to the environment. Within the short time of her being on the seat as the environment ...

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) has commended the recent statement by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Water and Sanitation, Leo Heller, who described the 2017 budget proposal for the water sector in Lagos State as unacceptable.Activists lend credence to UN expert’s view on Lagos water policy. Heller’s comments came just weeks ...

Coal deposit in commercial quantity has been discovered in Sokoto State, a development observers describe as a boost to the Federal Government efforts to diversify the nation’s economy to agriculture and solid minerals. Other solid minerals so far discovered and awaiting exploration include phosphate (for making fertiliser), gold, limestone, gypsum, iron ore, copper, columbite, tantalite, zinc, and kaolin. Speaking during ...